— Char Nolan

So the recipes are fun, they're tried and true. If you see my name after a recipe, you will know that it is whole food, plant-based, no oil, no salt or sugar. So what I did was I took a couple of the recipes because I thought that you might like to see what they look like. And this is, if this is your first departure from having a, a Thanksgiving and you're moving into the plant domain, I wanted to show you a few things. So the first thing is we have a great recipe, um, for cranberry sauce, and it's made with whole cranberries and, uh, date paste and it's got oranges in it. Uh, I think I threw some pineapple in here just 'cause I had some pineapple. I didn't want it to go to waste. When you put all of it into your high-speed blender, when it finishes, you're gonna say to yourself, oh my goodness, did I make a cranberry smoothie? Because as you know, cranberries are a high water volume fruit. And so you're shaking your head saying, I'm just gonna run and get some ocean spray. No one will know, like the commercial says. So here it is today, I made this last night. And now you can see that it has a gorgeous texture and it, uh, isn't runny like a slurpee. And by the way, if you don't have these dishes in your house, I'm not sure I've had them for years. They come with a plastic top. So you can almost make them in serving dishes and it's one less thing that you have to do. And I'm, I'm gonna garnish this and then I'm gonna share with you probably, uh, one of the most effective things that you can do for planning your Thanksgiving dinner. So for a garnish, I have some, um, orange zest and I use a large zester for this. So it gives it a little appeal. And then for extra look, I'm just gonna throw on some thyme and it's gonna look really pretty when you serve it. And everybody's gonna say, oh my gosh, I want this recipe. So, um, it's delicious. It takes, and I'm not kidding, five minutes to make. So you can make it five days in advance, it'll stay well in your refrigerator, make sure that you put it in the back of the fridge that it's got a top on it. You're gonna love it. I was at the grocery store earlier this morning and a can of organic cranberry sauce. It was a 14 ounce can, was 4 29. So I think that this is maybe a dollar 99 dish and everyone will love it. So you can share that with people. The other thing is, if you have people coming to your house who are expecting to see perhaps a piece of meat or something on the table, you're gonna, it's really easy to flip recipes that you like, uh, to leave out things, put extra things in. I suggest it's getting some extra sage into your house, some poultry seasoning. But this is a quick and easy recipe for stuffing. And, um, I used pumper nickel bread. I made it from scratch. I used pumper nickel bread and I used a whole wheat bread. And then I toasted them in the oven. And, uh, you can see the recipe in the guide. I may have deviated a little bit by adding, you know, 14 pounds of poultry seasoning or whatever. And I added some almonds. I would suggest to toast them so that there's a little bit more texture and a little more flavor. And, uh, I've got some rosemary on it. So on Thanksgiving day, I'm going to put some of the mushroom gravy that we have in the guide, pour it on top, cover this and cook it. So you're saying to yourself, is that all the stuffing she made for seven people? No, I don't like cold stuffing. So I make three little ones. I bring the first one out to the table, everybody eats it. Oh my gosh, this is so good. And then is there more stuffing? You go into the kitchen and you bring out a piping hot pan of stuffing. So the leftover, if there's one pan leftover, it looks delicious. It has maintained its beauty. And, um, I don't think that we have it in the book, but one of the things that I like to do with leftovers, stay with me is take some stuffing, make waffles out of it, and then take some leftover seitan, some leftover stuffing cranberry sauce and make a Turkey sandwich. Because here in Pennsylvania, there's a thing called, oh gosh, it's called a Turkey something at, at the Wawa. And I'm sure you've all heard of the Wawa, uh, people go wild for the sandwich. So, uh, it's a good way to practice good full food utilization with the stuffing and then make some beautiful, delicious sandwiches. Now there is a quick recipe for, um, a seitan roast in the guide, uh, which is my personal recipe, which I love. Sometimes you have not taken the, if you, if you have not made the seitan recipe that is in the curriculum making seitan may seem foreign to you. However, the recipe that is in the, in the guide is quick and easy to make. But when you go to the grocery store, you are going to look for gluten flour. It says vital wheat, gluten flour. In other words, it's saying seitan. So I love this brand the best. Uh, it's quick and easy to use. I trust everything that an employee owned company like Bob's Red Mill uses. So this is what you're going to look for in places like Mom's Organic Market or sprouts, uh, or Whole Foods Market. You're going to find it in generally the baking section. So that should be helpful. Uh, the recipe is really good, has a nice texture slather on some of that mushroom gravy and a little bit of cranberry sauce not too far away. And it's going to be really good. I would suggest before next Thursday that if you're going to make it, to make a test recipe for yourself to make sure that you feel confident making it and it comes out the way that you like it. Now, last but not least, well two things. Not last, but not least. Um, it's in the trade. It's called flipping a Recipe. This dish was my father's most famous dish, and it was sliced cooked sweet potatoes. And then it was layered with Granny Smith apples, and I'll use it in my father's voice marshmallows. Uh, my father grew up in Bayside, New York. And on top of it, you're going to see marshmallows and then this will get baked in the oven, and these get beautifully caramelized. And then the dish takes on a beautiful aroma and is delicious to eat. But you have to use vegan marshmallows. You can get vegan marshmallows at Trader Joe's. They have two different flavors. They have maple and then they have plain vanilla. And if you're shopping at a conventional grocery store where they're also carried, they go by the name of Dandy and they are completely 100% vegan. So this was be, this was a childhood favorite, but it was loaded with sugar and butter and you don't need any of that to maintain the vegan or plant-based integrity of the dish. And it's kind of fun having things that are part of your own history that you have been able to convert into being plant-based. And I think that when you go through the guide, you're going to see some of those talking points about, you know, creating, uh, family traditions or using family traditions that you have carried on for a long, long time. Lastly, and I do love to talk about plants and the proper temperature. So let's get this open. So you're saying to yourself, what in the world is this? So Thursday, I have a big event for 15 senior citizens where I am in the process of making a whole food plant-based no oil Thanksgiving. And there are people who have come to my classes for nine years and, uh, they have made some wonderful adaptations into their own diet, which always makes me feel very happy When I leave my house, I look as though I am going out west in a chuck wagon. So this is, I don't even know where I got this, but I have to show it to you because if I'm gonna take something hot with me, I'm going to fill this with hot water. And then when it's time to leave, empty it out and put the food, the hot food in here, close the the top. And then when I get to my destination, it's one less thing that I have to reheat and it's a proper temperature, especially for older adults who generally like their food to be a little warmer, uh, or less warm than it would be if you were serving it. And one last thing I promise this time. So here we go. I have a friend who is a potter and she made me some plant, some dishes that say plants on them. So if I am going to someone's house and I don't want to look like, oh, here comes that plant-based weirdo again, I will make a double dish of something. So for example, I might make a double dish of the cranberry sauce and put it in here and everyone knows that it's plant-based, but it will be the first dish to go.